1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to printing, and more particularly to a method for borderless printing using a printer adapted to print dots.
2. Description of the Related Art
Printers include, without limitation, computer printers, copiers, facsimile machines, and multifunction printers which also scan, copy, fax, etc. Some printers, such as inkjet printers, print by printing closely-spaced ink dots on a print medium such as paper. Conventional inkjet printers include those having a carrier with at least one printhead such as a color printhead, a mono printhead, or a photo printhead. Some inkjet printers are controlled by software in a host (e.g., user's) computer, such software including a printing application (such as a word processor or a spreadsheet) for creating a print job and including a printer driver for printing the print job with a particular make and model of printer.
Conventional inkjet printers have a normal printing mode (or modes) which leave a predetermined minimum unprintable top, bottom, left and right margin on the paper sheet. This allows faster printing and avoids overspray of ink at the edges of the sheet. However, portions of the image extending beyond such unprintable margins are not printed in the normal printing mode(s). Some conventional inkjet printers also have a borderless printing mode (or modes) which leaves no unprintable margins from two perpendicular edges or from all four edges of the sheet. In one known borderless printing method, the image is printed at one-hundred percent print swath density over the entire sheet including at the edges. In another known borderless printing method, a checkered pattern for printing is used which reduces the print swath density by fifty percent when printing near an edge of the sheet. In an additional known borderless printing method, a predetermined pattern of print data bits are set to not print for at least one column of dots to be printed adjacent a lateral edge of the sheet. In a further known borderless printing method where two-pass printing is used in a normal printing mode, one pass printing is used adjacent an edge of the sheet and two-pass printing is used elsewhere. The last three known borderless printing methods reduce print overspray at the edge of the sheet which reduces ink buildup in the gutters of the inkjet printer, wherein the gutters are provided for catching the print overspray.
What is needed is an improved method for borderless printing using a printer, such as an inkjet printer, adapted to print dots.